Amazon launched Amazon Prime in 2005 to build brand loyalty. Although it’s grown to include services such as video streaming, quick shipping remains its most appealing feature. As an ecommerce business, you have to keep up — and part of that is learning how to get your products on Amazon Prime in 2022.
The Prime badge can help brands stay ahead of the competition. This special designation signals that you can fulfill customer orders within the two-day time frame that Amazon is famous for. As a Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM), Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) partner, WBX Commerce is one of the fastest ways brands can obtain the Prime badge for their ecommerce products with flexible fulfillment options.
The barrier to entry for getting your products on Prime is fairly low. As far as what is eligible for Amazon Prime, you can obtain the Prime badge for virtually any of your products. The legwork involves getting a Prime account and analyzing your fulfillment options to determine whether you can be profitable in pursuing them. There are two fulfillment options you can pursue to obtain the Prime badge:
Fulfillment by Amazon
(FBA) is one pathway to getting your products on Amazon Prime. With FBA, you send your products directly to an Amazon fulfillment center. There, Amazon employees pick, pack and ship your orders. Amazon also provides customer service on behalf of FBA brands.
FBA costs $39.99 per month for professional accounts, as well as additional fees for fulfillment, long-term storage or optional programs, such as advertising or premium account services. Amazon also charges an 8% to 15% referral fee for each item you sell. As you can see, Amazon’s cost, while reasonable for most businesses, can quickly become expensive.
Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) is the other pathway. This program allows businesses to ship Prime-eligible products directly from their own authorized warehouses. Alternatively, brands can ship products from a partner’s authorized warehouse. Companies have to apply and meet certain criteria to be eligible for SFP, such as having a 99% on-time fulfillment rate and an order cancellation rate of less than 0.5%. In addition, Amazon continues to add new program eligibility requirements such as delivery speed — which requires one-day and two-day shipping coverage of the U.S. — continuously challenging companies to improve customer experience.
But there is a catch: Amazon is not currently accepting new SFP applicants and is not authorizing new SFP warehouses. You can sign up for a waitlist — or you can trust a certified partner like WBX Commerce to handle Prime fulfillment for you. Amazon has authorized WBX Commerce’s network of warehouses to fulfill Prime orders on behalf of ecommerce brands.
WBX Commerce can help all brands fulfill Prime orders through both the FBA and SFP programs. The process of getting the Prime badge for your ecommerce products with WBX Commerce through SFP is simple:
If the margin analysis determines that pursuing FBA is more cost beneficial, WBX Commerce preps your inventory, then sends it to an Amazon fulfillment center instead of a WBX Commerce warehouse. Amazon then takes over shipping your products to your customers.
Once you start selling through Amazon Prime, you’ll need a strong reputation to maintain eligibility. Amazon relies on various metrics to determine seller performance, and those metrics often change.
Generally, you want good, reliable products, accessible customer service and reasonable prices. You need to ensure your products arrive as described and abide by Amazon’s listing and product description guidelines.
WBX Commerce manages a number of brands on Amazon, which holds WBX Commerce to a higher standard in order for it to maintain eligibility as an authorized SFP fulfillment partner. Furthermore, WBX Commerce has built its infrastructure to maintain that eligibility, even as Amazon’s criteria become more stringent.
In other words, WBX Commerce has set itself up to prepare and support Amazon Prime sellers the right way. At the center of that preparation and support is a data-driven strategy that helps brands improve product pricing, listing creation, rankings, shipping and relationship management. Sellers that partner with WBX Commerce can develop high seller scores and keep selling through Amazon Prime.
WBX Commerce data shows that brands with the Prime badge on their listings see up to a 200% increase in sales versus brands without this designation. This metric is hard to ignore. If you’re selling on Amazon, you should aim to make your ecommerce products eligible for Amazon Prime. WBX Commerce can help you optimize your listings accordingly for maximum visibility.
Projections from eMarketer estimate there will be 163.5 million Amazon Prime users in the U.S. in 2022. And on average, Amazon Prime members spent $1,968 on Amazon annually, nearly four times more than non-Prime members. In summary, Amazon Prime members are a large group with significant purchasing power.
Additionally, products with the Prime badge have greater visibility than those without. Amazon’s algorithm drives customers toward Prime listings, placing these products at the very top of search results. And Amazon customers can filter out products that are not Prime eligible, further increasing brand visibility.
The statistics on fast shipping don’t lie: According to 2021 Digital Commerce 360 survey, 68% of customers were persuaded to purchase based on fast shipping times. Additionally, statistics from Invesp say that 61% of consumers were willing to pay extra for same-day delivery. Big Commerce notes that after finding a product on a competitor’s site, 90% of customers will check Amazon for the same product due to Amazon’s fast shipping rates.
To help brands meet short fulfillment times, WBX Commerce has warehouses strategically located in Baltimore, Las Vegas and Memphis, covering 99% of the U.S. market. WBX Commerce operates out of 800,000 sq. ft. in warehouse space across three locations. Additional rack space enables brands to store inventory in multiple warehouse locations to provide customers with more shipping options.
Amazon Prime can make a huge difference in your ecommerce success. The Prime badge on your listings shows tacit approval from Amazon and marks your brand as more trustworthy. Customers will be less concerned about purchasing from your brand for the first time.
Since WBX Commerce has set up its infrastructure to meet Amazon’s increasingly stringent fulfillment requirements, you can rest assured that your customers will receive their orders correctly and on time. If your brand is just getting started, it’s crucial to impress your customers right from the beginning — pursuing Prime eligibility with WBX Commerce can increase your credibility.
As an Amazon-certified fulfillment partner, WBX Commerce can help your brand obtain the Prime badge for its listings. As your Amazon Marketplace management team, WBX Commerce experts can help you determine the most cost-beneficial fulfillment route to move in. We can also help you optimize your product listings, pricing, advertising and more. We want you set up for success.
If you partner with WBX Commerce, your brand can leverage real-time marketplace insights across customers and channels with WBX Commerce’s proprietary ecommerce software. Using one platform, you can unlock a clear marketplace picture that details the customer journey from start to purchase. And that intelligence can inform all other areas of your business for an overall smarter, more agile operation. Now — where to start? Getting your products on Amazon Prime can be as simple as reaching out to WBX Commerce.
